Month: October 2015

Mars One is one of the biggest and well known initiatives to travel to Mars. They’re mission is not only to reach Mars, but discover if human settlement is possible there. In 2020 they plan to depart the first unmanned mission. Then in 2026 the first crew will be sent on their one-way mission to Mars (which is terrifying). Once they settle in, different crews will be sent every 26 months after the first crew departed. Mars One says, “The most complex, expensive, and risky part of a mission to Mars is the return trip.”

They made this initiative a “one-way” mission because its far less difficult and expensive than return missions. Mars One has already started contracting aerospace companies to build designs and test them properly before action. Before the first crew leaves Earth to go to Mars, The hardware and instruments they need will be sent years ahead of the humans. In 2024 six cargo missions will be sent to Mars and they will arrive in 2025. There would be 24/7 communications between the two planets. “The first fully trained Mars crew will be launched into Earth orbit. In orbit the Mars One crew switches places with the assembly crew, which will descend back to Earth. After a final check of systems on Mars and of the transit vehicle, engines of the propellant stages will be fired and the Transit Vehicle will be launched on a Mars transit trajectory. This is the point of no return for the Mars crew.” The first crew will land in 2027 and the second crew will departure in 2028. Surprisingly more than 200,000 men and women responded for the first call of astronauts.

NASA has four goals for Mars exploration. 1. Determine if there was ever life on Mars. 2. Characterize the climate of Mars. 3. Characterize the geology of Mars. 4. Prepare for the human exploration of Mars. NASA will capture and redirect an astroid to orbit our moon, astronauts in the Orion spacecraft will explore the astroid in the 2020s and bring back samples to Earth. This experience will help NASA test new systems and capabilities, such as Solar Electric Propulsion, which we’ll need to send cargo as part of human missions to Mars. “A fleet of robotic spacecraft and rovers already are on and around Mars, dramatically increasing our knowledge about the Red Planet and paving the way for future human explorers.” This is going to help to keep the astronauts in Mars safe.

 

Citations:

• “Mars One.” Mars One. 2015. Web. 20 Oct. 2015. <http://www.mars-one.com>.
• Greicius, Tony. “Robotic Mars Exploration.” NASA. NASA. Web. 20 Oct. 2015. <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mars/main/index.html>.
• “Mars Travel: The Mars Initiative.” Mars Travel: The Mars Initiative. David Geaney. Web. 20 Oct. 2015. <http://www.marstravel.org/2013/02/the-mars-initiative.html>.

In this Experiment, my partner and I used the lego windstorm motor to lift weights with a pulley. We explored Newton’s 2nd law: F=ma with the pulley, we also explored Velocity, Power, Acceleration, and the law of conservation of energy by controlling the power, weight, and many other factors.

 

 

We basically chose a weight and a power to use for about 3 runs and recorded the following for each run:

• Millivolts (before and after)
• Rotation
• Height (m)
• Battery Discharge (mV)
• Speed (RPM
• Time (s)
• Acceleration (RPM/s)

---

 

Run 1

Power: 75

Mass (kg): 0.245

Height (m): .22

milliVolts (before): 8281

milliVolts (after): 8211

Rotation: 860

Battery Discharge (mV): 70

Speed (RPM): 82.5653

Time (s): 1.736

Acceleration (RPM/s): 47.5606

---

Run 2

Power: 75

Mass (kg): 0.205

Height (m): .22

milliVolts (before): 8253

milliVolts (after): 8198

Rotation: 873

Battery Discharge (mV): 55

Speed (RPM): 84.299

Time (s): 1.726

Acceleration (RPM/s): 48.8406

---

Run 3

Power: 75

Mass (kg): 0.165

Height (m): .22

milliVolts (before): 8281

milliVolts (after): 8142

Rotation: 851

Battery Discharge (mV): 139

Speed (RPM): 87.8769

Time (s): 1.614

Acceleration (RPM/s): 54.4467

---

Then after we did the 3 runs with the same power, we changed the power for the next 2 and kept a weight of 0.165 kg. then we repeated the process :

Run 4

Power: 60

Mass (kg): 0.165

Height (m): .22

milliVolts (before): 8198

milliVolts (after): 8087

Rotation: 975

Battery Discharge (mV): 111

Speed (RPM): 70.4073

Time (s): 2.308

Acceleration (RPM/s): 30.5058

---

Run 5

Power: 70

Mass (kg): 0.165

Height (m): .22

milliVolts (before): 8211

milliVolts (after): 8128

Rotation: 963

Battery Discharge (mV): 83

Speed (RPM): 82.6893

Time (s): 1.941

Acceleration (RPM/s): 42.6014

---

After recording all the information, we went on Excel and plotted graphs for each of the following:

 

When we got to the Library the Guide passed around an attendance sheet. She talked to us about the the unlimited usage of the computers, she showed us where the printers were incase we needed to use them. She explained that on the third floor there are multiple study rooms that have to be booked online for specific dates and times. She explained that we have over 25,000 electronic subscriptions to things like Boston Globe, New York Times, Financial Time Economists, Smithsonian’s, etc… and how we can access them all free through the Sawyer Library.

The fourth floor is where all the books are, we can check out books for 28 days at time and renew them online up to two times, and we can check out as many books as we want. The books are mostly academic topics and a few popular reading’s. She showed us how to go on the Suffolk Library part on the Suffolk website. Also how to find ebooks online so we don’t need the actual book, which is way easier to find keywords in text and many other gadgets. She showed us how the books on the shelves are separated by a specific letter. The tour was cool, I discovered the study rooms which I didn’t know of before and how to book them. Overall nice tour of the Sawyer Library.

The automotive industry is responsible for coming up with new designs for fuel efficient cars, the manufacturing, and the selling of the vehicles. One huge step to fuel efficiency are hybrid and electric cars made by many known car industries (Hondas, Toyotas, Lexus’, Teslas, etc…)

The average MPG for 2015 is estimated to be 24 mpg which isn’t bad at all. But by the year 2025 we expect to have the mpg go up to around 54 which is pretty incredible . Families will end up saving hundreds if not thousands at the pump each year. Manual transmission cars are also more fuel efficient because you have the choice of changing the gears to Neutral on a downhill or at light which decreases the amount of emissions used. Hybrid cars would be making our environment much greater if the sales were higher but the sales in the U.S market are at about 3-4%. The green movement has struck all automotive industries as all car manufacturers are focusing on producing more environmentally friendly and fuel efficient vehicles. Even trucks will be 20% more fuel efficient by 2018. But gasoline alone still fuels 95% of North Americas vehicles today.

Other ways automotive industries are making cars more efficient are making the vehicles weigh less which leads the car to use less effort and use less gas to go further. As well as the shape or aerodynamic of the vehicle is an important key because the vehicle has to look appealing for people to buy but also be dynamic to have less air resistance. Industries are also coming up with techniques to save gas while at a red light or waiting for someone while not moving, its called the cylinder deactivation system, the car turns off periodically while the vehicle is not moving and turns on as soon as you step on the gas.

Citation:

“Some Cars Today Already Meet 2025 Gas-Mileage Standards: Did You Know?” Green Car Reports. John Voelker, 14 Aug. 2015. Web. 5 Oct. 2015.<http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1099593_some-cars-today-already-meet-2025-gas-mileage-standards-did-you-know>

“Automotive Industry Analysis 2015 – Cost & Trends.” Automotive Industry Analysis 2015 – Cost & Trends. Michael Liu. Web. 5 Oct. 2015. <https://www.franchisehelp.com/industry-reports/automotive-franchise-industry-report/>.

“Obama Administration Finalizes Historic 54.5 MPG Fuel Efficiency Standards.” The White House. The White House, 28 Aug. 2012. Web. 5 Oct. 2015. <https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/08/28/obama-administration-finalizes-historic-545-mpg-fuel-efficiency-standard>.

Tom’s Demos were all really interesting considering the variation of energy sources and different tools. The first toy he showed us was the Mendocino Motor. This demo uses magnetic attraction and repulsion, the magnet is wrapped in solar cells which makes it run on solar energy. Its considered a self commutating motor, when it receives energy from light it puts a current through the coil, creates a magnetic field which reacts with the magnetic base and causes it to turn 90 degrees in a continuos process. This is a super sensitive object because the solar cell is made of silicon, it can be broken by even blowing on it.

Another demo he showed was the Rocking Armature Motor. People made these motors not to do work, but to try different approaches and layouts to different motors. The fly wheel spins due to the rocking member which is called the armature.

Another demo Tom showed us was a Stirling Engine which was originally created by the Reverend Robert Stirling in 1816. Stirling idea of this motor was to take the place of steam engines. Steam engines were all we had for water power back then and they were extremely dangerous. If the water level got too low in the boiler, the intense heat from the fire box took the smaller amount of water and flash boiled it, which caused it to immediately turn into super heated high pressure steam and this caused massive explosions in steam boats. The Stirling engine is a hot air engine, it works by virtue of moving air.

He showed us a few other demos like a high voltage motor that would illuminate lights just by coming close to it (no contact), a violet ray, and a 1920’s circuit breaker. The demos were super interesting I loved the class!